Odious MPs will form their own group in the new parliament

Photo: Ivan Chernichkin

Independent deputies are actively discussing the formation of parliamentary alliances prior to the first session of the new Verkhovna Rada. According to information of Capital, there is a plan to form three deputy groups in the parliament. Politicians renowned for their previous odious activities that prevented them from joining the faction of the winners of the elections will form one of the groups.

Three is not a crowd

A minimum of three deputy groups with the rights of a faction will be formed in the new convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, a member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc told Capital. “At the moment, the group of Ihor Yeremeyev, which will be our ally, is being formed and Vitaliy Khomutynnik is forming a group that will be strongly influenced by business tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskiy. There are also plans to create a third alliance from the parliamentary morass,” he said.

He specified that odious politicians that will form this group; their inclusion into the faction is convenient for the presidential party and the deputy groups that are currently being formed. “This group will be oriented towards the president,” said the source inside the PPB.

People’s deputy Yuriy Blahodyr (Sovereign European Ukraine) confirmed for the publication that the team of Yeremeyev is in the final stage of forming the deputy group, which will have more than 30 members. “On the whole, I believe that there will almost be no independent deputies left in the new parliament, because in my opinion one of the first decisions will be the cancellation of the first-past-the-post electoral system and deputies will try to join the existing projects or form new ones. I think that there will be three deputy groups in the parliament,” said Blahodyr.

Independent deputy Anton Kisse, who won in the first-past-the-post constituency in the Odesa oblast as a self-nominee, is inclined to join the deputy group in the new parliament. “I held many meetings at the highest levels. I am more inclined to the deputy group format. I know that Khomutynnik and Yeremeyev are forming their groups and there will be a third one. However, I do not see any difference between them. My decision to join a group will depend on whether such a group will give me the possibility to fulfill the tasks that the voters put forth,” Kisse told Capital. He said that the talks on the formation of deputy groups will be held next week. People’s deputy Anton Yatsenko also told Capital that he will be ready to comment on questions regarding his future in the Verkhovna Rada “next week”.

Serhiy Kivalov, who was elected in Constituency No. 135, commented for Capital that today he is analyzing “possible unification based on the fact that there are bona fide professionals and the possibility of constructive work”. He does not rule out that he may become an independent deputy, though he “would prefer to work on the team of unified deputies”.

Golden goose is on the loose

People’s deputy Volodymyr Kurenniy (UDAR) believes that of all the proposed deputy groups the most influential one at this point is the alliance that Khomutynnik is forming. “I believe that its weight in the parliament should be considered not only by the number of bayonets inside the group itself. The influence of Kolomoyskiy on the parliament and deputies in his inner circle and other deputy alliances should also be considered,” Kurenniy told Capital.

Nevertheless, he believes that both deputy groups will not play the role that they earned in the VR of the 7th convocation. “In the previous parliament they joined the coalition and had influence on its decisions due to the votes of its deputies. But the new parliamentary coalition will be formed without them,” Korenniy noted.

Pavlo Rozenko, renowned expert, civil and political activist and people’s deputy of the 7th convocation of the VR, is of the same opinion that the PPB, People’s Front and Samopomich can independently form a stable majority in the parliament. The golden shares that these groups are banking on will not see them. But they will always be in the winner’s camp as an insurance policy for the president from the independence of the People’s Front,” political scientist Taras Berezovets predicted for Capital. He also does not rule out the possibility that the new parliament will once again propose amendments to the rules and reduce the number of deputies necessary for the formation of groups. “Feudalistic fragmentation makes it easier to control deputies,” Berezovets believes.

As a reminder, in the 7th Convocation of the Verkhovna Rada after the changing of the guard in the country three deputy groups were mainly made up of former members of the faction of the Party of Regions. Two of the deputy groups – Sovereign European Ukraine and Economic Development were the founders of the new parliamentary coalition.